Cocoon
The Cocoon is a building complex for the accommodation and the creative activity of infants and toddlers aged up to 3 years. It is located in Navarino Dunes, the first area of Costa Navarino (luxury resort hotels and private residencies), in the region of Messinia in the Southwest Peloponnese, Greece. The long history of 4500 years has shaped the area and its people.
Navarino Dunes is a waterfront site on a gently sloping hillside, stretching along a 1km long sunset-facing sandy beach. The two buildings cover an area of 340 sq.m.in a plot of a total area of 1000 sq. m. Inspired by the memory of the cocoon, as the space that carries life, the buildings include accommodation, spaces for creative and educational activities for toddlers, as well as areas of outdoor play.
The soft shapes that surround, contain and protect life derive from the concept of birth. Fluid forms and carved underground spaces with green roofs surround a basin, from which organic forms emerge. The Cocoon creates a soft and secure environment for the accommodation of infants.
The main structural material is reinforced concrete. Eco-friendly materials - such as timber, bamboo, sand, pebbles - were selected
for the construction, as well as for the mobile and fixed equipment. The green roof contributes towards the integration of the building to the natural environment. The soil of the green roof serves as a natural insulator, keeping the building cool during the summer months when the temperature can rise up to 40 degrees Celsius, and warm during the winter months. The wind funnels through the valley created between the two buildings, contributing towards maintaining a cool microenvironment. Cylindrical skylights emerge through the green roof to transmit air and light (solar chimney) in the interior. Natural elements - sun, wind and water surround, traverse and define the building, thus comprising its inherent natural ingredients.